My journey in creating a life's work as both a musician & artist, and how you can do the same.

Thursday, June 6, 2013

How Being A Visual Artist Makes You A Better Musician

How many musicians do you know who are also artists, writers or photographers? I'm sure you can think of a few! Though all of these art forms are channeling creativity having an alternate creative expression discipline will automatically put fuel into the creative fire.

Think of people you know who have a combination of expressions. Here are some examples:

painter and dancer

illustrator and composer

stage actor and film maker

photographer and film maker

Some people may have 3 or more creative work channels:

recording artist, writer and painter

crafter, dancer, fine artist

inventor, producer, guitarist, and film maker

When you have multiple projects in the works it makes it practically impossible to have writers block. It gives you the opportunity to take a break from a project you have been working on yet your workflow does not need to stop as you can switch to another expressive task.

Art Feeds Art

I've had an interesting pattern that I've carried out over the years. I would start by listening to a particular album over and over while creating a specific digital art image. Later I might write and record a piece of music inspired by the image I had created, sometimes viewing it as I wrote. Notice if you see examples of this in your own life?

You can instinctively feel that creating visual art channels a unique part of the brain that is different from music composition.

"But aren't I suppose to do one thing and do it well, I don't want to be perceived as a dilettante" You ask?

Was Michelangelo a dilettante? He the sculptor, engineer, architect and painter! The most important thing is to have specific goals in such case. Many people have great idea's but to "act" on them will bring you toward your dreams.

Rain San Martin is a Multimedia Composer and Digital Artist living in Fort Wayne, IN with her husband Sage and two children. www.RainSanMartin.com